http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2975265 Howard steps up his game Rockets forward nets a season high with 12 rebounds By MEGAN MANFULL Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle With the power forward job all to himself for a night, Juwan Howard took advantage. He put together his best all-around performance of the season by containing Utah's Carlos Boozer on defense and dominating on the boards. Howard picked up his first double double of the season with 14 points and led all players with a season-high 12 rebounds during the Rockets' 99-80 victory over the Jazz on Sunday at Toyota Center. But Howard's most impressive effort was on the defensive end, where he held Boozer, Utah's only healthy star, well below his season averages in points (20.2) and rebounds (9.7). Boozer finished with 14 points and five rebounds. "He made it hard for Boozer to catch the ball," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I thought his post defense was terrific tonight, and there's no stat for that. So many things that go into winning there is no stat for, and your team has to grow to appreciate things that win, and (post defense) wins. "You'll get no recognition for being a great post defender, or you'll probably get no recognition for balancing the floor correctly and running transition opportunities, but all those things go into winning and there's no stat for that." Howard was handed the job of guarding Boozer throughout much of the game mostly because Maurice Taylor was ejected early in the third quarter when he received his second technical for shoving Curtis Borchardt. Taylor and Howard have split minutes at power forward most of the season, with Howard starting but averaging only 21.7 minutes per game. He matched his season high in minutes with 35 on Sunday and credited that for his production offensively and on the boards. "Of course, when you play more minutes, good things happen," Howard said. "That's how it goes. You get more minutes, you get more touches, you get more opportunities out there on the floor to feel comfortable, to feel confident. I'm not being negative or anything, but when you're averaging 22 minutes you can only do so much." Regardless of the minutes, Howard has put together solid outings in the past couple of weeks. In the Rockets' last five games, Howard has hit 54.4 percent from the field ?up from his season average of 45.5 percent. Against Cleveland on Dec. 29, Howard made seven of nine field goals and finished with 17 points in 23 minutes. It was his highest points total since scoring 20 on Nov. 9. "When you get the basketball, good things happen," said Howard, who averaged 17.8 points and 7.4 rebounds during his previous 10 seasons. "And guys have been looking for me when we're in pick-and-roll situations. I've been running the floor, ducking in and they're finding me." His teammates are looking for him, and they are also expecting similar outings on a regular basis. "Juwan is capable of doing that," said McGrady, who spent last season in Orlando with Howard. "He's underrated a little bit. The guy works hard day in and day out. He was just active tonight." megan.manfull@chron.com
Maybe that shows that we don't need Mo playing at all. If he plays well with being the only PF available then lets keep it going.
I started a thread two months ago with Howard should start instead of Mo.T but most people here against me!!!!But I am glad JVG made this changed!! http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?threadid=86521
the big thing coming out of that game was Howard's aggressiveness on both ends of the floor. he showed flashes of it throughout the season, but tonight he was something else. the defense on Boozer was great and when his shots weren't falling, he would go inside and work the boards. kudos to Juwan
Juwan Howard given a compliment!?!? It MUST be the end of the world because that must be a sign. But yeah he played very well tonite and actually deserved the positive comments.
gotta give credit where credits due just wait til he reverts back to shortarming shots and being outrebounding by Sura...all the hatred will come back out hahaha
Its nice to finally see some fine play from the PF position. What really impresses me is how Howard has handled himself throughout the season thus far. Here you have one of the most consistent players at his position over the course of his career and off of a seasonwhere he averaged 17/7, and he hasn't complained once about a lack of minutes or of JVG's constant "tweakings" of the lineup. He's been acting like a veteran and judging by last night's performance, he's starting to play like one too.
I want to know whether Van Gundy suggested the Juwan angle to the Chronicle (Sura got the headline at ESPN) and whether this signals a more Rudy-esque approach of using the media to dispense praise instead of blame.
Interesting point Will. A performance like last night is certainly a confidence builder. I'm sure JVG realizes nearly all of the publicity regarding Howard has been negative and like you are suggesting, he wanted to make sure he has something positive to build off of. Make him realize the team still needs him and still has conifedence in him.
Man did Juwan look good in last night's game! Talk about active. I was VERY impressed with his "fronting defense" on Boozer in the second half. He totally denied him the ball. Howard was active on the boards, and on defensive rotations, even with trapping at midcourt! The guy was quick! Howard talks a bit about this in his Chronicle article, but it mentions that he is averaging around 22mpg and last night he got "starters mins" at 35 minutes. I feel we need to give him those mins everynight. We need to "define" his role as the team's "starting PF." We keep wavering with Howard and Taylor and they both get around the same mins. Taylor looked terrible last night. He isnt nearly as active as Howard. I hope JVG gives Howard the PF mins he deserves.
With Howard playing better and Sura and Wesley playing well together it shows signs of team chemistry and identity. Like the players are more comfortable and can play more with out thinking. This is a good time, if the team if gelling with chemistry. I would like for us to make the playoffs and solid play from Howard would be huge. Especially since PF was a big black hole just a month ago.
Yeah I hope Juwan can play like this every game and yes he will definitely be appreciated if he can play well every night. I was wondering why Mo barely played and Juwan played so much. Good thing they didn't have Kirilenko ugh
Interesting...Juwan's not hitting his shots because he's not getting enough minutes....or he's not getting enough minutes because he's not hitting his shots... IMO, a lot of this is related to "confidence". (Will's pointl) . Juwan has had a very good (near excellent) elbow J all of his career and it's somehow vanished. If it's minutes related...give him the minutes. Another plus of having Juwan on the court is that he is quick enough to do that soft double team trap at mid-court. Against teams like the Jazz which have longer offensive sets, this stealing a few seconds of shot clock is significant. I doubt it will change many opinions but it is curious how much better the offense looks when our starting PF hits his 15 foot jumpers.
Yeah his shot is beautiful when it goes in like it has been. Yeah he really is good at double teaming..most people wouldn't notice that. He probably has been criticized a lot and hopefully he continues to be confident against Amare and everyone else.
I was actually a little relieved whey Taylor got ejected because he wasn't playing that well and Howard had done such a good job.
I thought Howard can't possibly step down his game any more.. so it is obvious that he has to step it up.
I dont think there is any question part of it is confidence. I think our PFs need to have their "roles" defined a bit better. They need to know what to expect and not look over their shoulders on if they are going to come out of the game or not. Basically say Howard is going to be the starter and get 30 mins a game. Taylor, you are the back up and are going to get 15 mins a game leaving 3 mins for Padgett or something. Define those roles. Both Howard and Taylor would know what to expect and would adjust their games accordingly. Whatever we need to do to get Howard's game to the level it was last night is what we need to do. If it is to give him more minutes and that gets his confidence up, then so be it. But more than anything, what I saw last night from Howard was a lot of effort plays. He was very "active" on the court. That's what we need from the PF position. Energy!
